To Save Them Is To Be Free
by Midna3452
Summary: When Cara Jones' friend gets a job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, Cara is less than pleased; she has family ties to the restaurant that she would much rather forget about. However, that night things take an unexpected turn, leading Cara and her friend on a wild hunt to free the supposedly trapped souls of five children from a group of "malfunctioning" animatronics... DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! So, this is a special little story that I've written. There are some disclaimers before you read it, because the _FNaF_ plotline is ever-changing! First: I wrote this BEFORE _FNaF 3_ came out; therefore, any game-based information that I present in this story is based ONLY on the first two games. Secondly, _FNaF 3_ happened to come out very soon after I started this story, so obviously my assumption of the game's plot has changed quite a bit... and therefore this story only has two chapters so far (more details about this at the end).**

 **However, I worked really hard on this story and so I decided to post it anyway. I hope you all enjoy it, and even though I know that the storyline may be a bit different than you think it is, I would love to know what you think! Without further ado, here's Chapter 1!**

 _ **NOTE: I own nothing except the character of Cara Jones and the idea for this story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The first time Cara Jones heard that her friend got a job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, she nearly choked on the burger that she had just taken a bite out of.

"You alright, Cara?" her friend asked, raising one eyebrow. Cara nodded and gestured for him to continue, trying to hide the prickling feeling of dread that had begun to creep up her spine. The dark-haired boy turned to the other two people sitting at the rectangular table and smiled.

"So yeah, you know how I've been looking for a job? I just wandered into the place thinking 'eh, what the hell; might as well give it a shot'…and the owner practically _begged_ me to take the night shift!" There was a round of impressed murmurs, though Cara remained uncharacteristically silent, staring down at her plate. "I start tonight; it's not the best paying job, and I'll be dead tired until I can shift my sleep schedule around…but overall it seems pretty easy."

"What exactly do you have to _do?_ " one of the other people at the table asked. "I mean, it's a kid's party place, right? Doesn't it close down at night?"

"The owner just wants me to sit in the office and check the security cameras for 'suspicious activity,'" the boy responded, smirking. "I doubt anything's gonna happen, though…so I'm essentially being paid for sitting on my butt for six hours. Pretty good deal, in my opinion!"

The group laughed; even Cara let out a small, unenthusiastic chuckle. The boy glanced at her and noticed that her face was unnaturally pale. Just as he was about to ask if she was alright, one of the other people at the table stood up and announced that it was time for them to get going.

"Yeah, we should probably head out, too," the dark-haired boy agreed. He waved as his friends grabbed their things and turned towards the door. "See you guys later!"

When the others were out of sight, he stood up and looked back at Cara, who hadn't seemed to move a muscle for the past five minutes. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, glancing up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Hey, it's just me!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up non-threateningly. Cara merely stared at him, and to his horror, her eyes began to water.

"Mike…," she began, but had to pause to collect herself. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and locked gazes with the boy. "Do _not_ take this job, Mike. _Please._ "

"Wha-…why not?!" Mike questioned, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. "I think it's a great opportunity to make some cash! Which I desperately need, by the way; I think I'm gonna hurl if I have to eat another bowl of Instant Ramen…"

"Mike Schmidt, I'm being serious." Cara stood up and though she was a few inches shorter, she still gave off a commanding air. Her expression was hard, unwavering; she was deadly serious about her strange request. "Trust me, that place…it's had some _bad_ things happen in the past."

"Like…"

"…Like…just…bad things. I… go read a newspaper from 1987 if you really want to know." Quickly, Cara's whole attitude shifted from commanding to being extremely vague. She grabbed her bag and coat and turned away.

"Uh…okay…" The girl made a move to bolt for the doorway, but Mike grabbed her arm. "Hey, hey! You can't just drop something like that on me and then leave! What happened?! You obviously know something I don't… _Please_ tell me if it's something serious."

Cara bit her lip and stared hard at the floor. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, searching for the words. Unfortunately, the right ones never came.

"Just trust me, Mike," she said eventually, looking up at the lanky boy again. "You know I'm not the type of person to joke around; I really think you should find another job…But by the look on your face, you're obviously not going to listen to me. So…just be careful." She grabbed his shoulder, squeezed it, and then abruptly headed for the doorway.

"…That's it?! That's all you're going to tell me?!" Mike called after her. Cara paused, her back still towards him. She stood there for a moment, before shaking her head and walking quickly out of the room. Mike stared into the empty doorway, wondering what the hell that had been about.

Sighing, he figured that Cara must be in one of her weird moods again. After all, Mike realized with a sudden understanding, it _was_ Thursday; she always acted a bit weird on Thursdays.

Still…it wouldn't hurt to brush up on some of the history of this place before he went to work. It _was_ a pretty old establishment, after all, and the more he knew about it, the more he could impress his boss and potentially get a pay raise. Grabbing his coat, Mike Schmidt set off towards the library at a fairly quick pace.

He was expected for his first shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria in less than five hours; he certainly couldn't be late on the first day.

* * *

Cara walked into the psychiatric hospital and up to the front desk, concealing her increasing distress under a tired smile.

"Oh, Cara! I was wondering where you were," the receptionist said as she placed the desk phone back into its holder, having just finished a phone call.

"Yeah, traffic was bad today," Cara responded vaguely. She glanced down the hallway to her right. "How is he today?"

"As far as I know, he's doing just fine. I'm sure he's _very_ excited to see you!"

"Thanks. I'll see you on my way out."

The receptionist waved, and Cara was once again traveling down the all-too-familiar hallway of the Falling Leaves Psychiatric Hospital. She had walked down this exact hallway every Thursday since she was just over thirteen years old, first with her mother by her side and now all by herself. Soon, she came to the seventh room on the right, number 104. She nodded to a male nurse standing nearby and then knocked three times.

"I bet that's Cara, isn't it?" inquired a soft voice from inside the room. "Come in!"

Tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear, Cara opened the door and stepped into a well-lit, almost blindingly-white room. The bed was white, the dresser was white, the sink and toilet were white…even the loose-fitting clothes that the thin man on the bed was wearing were a dazzling shade of white. The only color in the room besides Cara herself was from a few pictures carefully placed on the dresser…all of which were encased in plastic, white frames, of course.

"It's so good to see you again!" the man on the bed said, smiling broadly and standing to give Cara a small hug. "You know I always look forward to your visits; they're the highlight of my week!"

Cara smiled genuinely for a few seconds, and then her expression quickly changed to a grimace. Staring at the man on the bed, she could picture what he would have looked like twenty-three years ago, clad in a dark purple uniform and surrounded by a horde of screaming children and tired parents, wearing a _very_ different expression than the one he had now. Back then, something had been horribly wrong in that now-calm mind of his…even though no one had realized this fact until it was too late.

Once again, just as she had felt countless times before, Cara's heart went out to the families of the last five children that the man had been with before he… snapped. Additionally, she sent a mental prayer to the children themselves:

 _May their souls rest in peace._

Quickly collecting her thoughts, she smiled again and grasped the man's hand, temporarily putting the sins of his past behind him. It had been many years since that day in '87, and by now the man had realized that he could never take back what he had done. It was because of this realization that Cara could stand to be in the same room as him now, holding his hand.

She gave the man's hand a tight squeeze and looked him straight in his grey, slightly vacant eyes.

"It's great to see you again, too, dad."

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter 2 should be posted in a few days! In the meantime, I have a question for those of you who read this chapter through to the end: should I continue this story, or should I begin a different FNaF fanfic? If I continue this particular story, it will continue off of the original plotline of FNaF that I created specifically for the story...so it will be very different than the one presented in the game itself.**

 **If I create a new story, it may just be a one-shot/series of one-shots, or I may wait until the final game and create a story based on the actual game plot. Anyway, please let me know what you think, and if you would like to wait until you read the second chapter to respond, that's fine. Every review/reviewer is wonderful, and thanks for reading~**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, here's chapter 2! As I stated in the first chapter, this is all that I have written of this story so far. I may or may not decide to continue this particular fanfic, but either way I will definitely write some more FNAF things! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Marvin Jones had appeared to be a perfectly normal boy growing up. He was a nice young man who was always willing to help others and had never shown so much as an ounce of violent tendencies.

Because of this, his friends and family were completely stunned when he was arrested for the murder of five young children. Frankly, his relatives didn't believe the news until they were presented with the cold, hard facts:

Due to increasing pressures of a low-paying job trying to support a two-year-old child and wife who was just frail enough to get sick rather often, one day something in Marvin's mind simply…snapped. Donning a promotional costume of Freddy Fazbear, the mascot of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, he lured five young children around the back of the establishment and…well, no one ever quite figured out what _exactly_ happened to the children, but from a confession by Marvin himself, the police learned that they were definitely deceased.

Marvin was convicted of his crime and put in jail. However, a psychiatric evaluation led to a slight change of placement: in a hopeful attempt to reform his behavior, Marvin was moved to Falling Leaves Psychiatric Hospital, a 24-hour care facility. This is where he remained from the time his daughter was just over three years old through the present day, and though he appeared to understand the severity of what he had done after a few long, arduous years of therapy, he had no planned release from the hospital.

Cara, the two-year-old child who couldn't understand why her father was suddenly missing from her life, eventually blossomed into a twenty-five year old woman trying to make her own start. When she first learned about the horrible crime her father had committed, she was terrified; she refused to talk about him for about five months, and it was even longer before she went to see him again. However, she slowly came to terms with the fact that her father himself understood the severity of what he did, and was able to forgive him enough that she could be alone with him for a short period of time.

Thus, every Thursday she stopped by Falling Leaves and paid him a visit for an hour.

"How are you, Cara?" the girl's father asked, smiling and patting the empty spot on the bed. Cara sat down, her mouth closed and brow furrowed. Eventually, she took a deep breath and stared at her lap.

"I was alright until this afternoon…," she trailed off quietly. Her father frowned, concerned, but before he could ask what was wrong Cara suddenly looked at him and grasped both of his hands in-between her own.

"Dad… I know we're not really supposed to talk about this, but…I have to ask you something."

Marvin closed his eyes and nodded, already aware of the topic his daughter was about to bring up.

"A few years ago, when you were still…before you got better, you said something about… the Pizzeria." Cara paused, gauging her father's reaction; she was always wary when this topic was brought up, faintly wondering in the back of her mind if this discussion would trigger a relapse. However, her father seemed calm and willing to listen, so she continued.

"You said something about the children. Something like…they were still there?"

Marvin looked up at her and nodded, his face a mask of calm detachment. He smiled.

"Oh, yes. They're still there, definitely," he responded. He gazed blankly at the wall behind Cara's head. "They each had a favorite character, you know. Cindy liked Chica because she was the only girl; she told me before it happened. And then Alan adored Bonnie, and Luke always wondered what was behind that Pirate Cove curtain…and then Ben, haha! He _loved_ Freddy Fazbear!... Yeah, those kids are still hanging around, I'm sure. Probably having a permanent party or something…"

Marvin trailed off, a wistful smile on his face. Cara waited a moment for him to continue, but when her dad failed to do so she realized that he needed more prompting.

"But, dad, what exactly do you _mean_ the kids are hanging around?" Cara asked. Her father slowly turned and locked gazes with her, his head tilted slightly to the right.

"Their souls are still there, even if their bodies have decayed away," he responded simply. Cara's mouth opened in a slightly confused manner, but her father merely stared at her. For the first time in quite a few years, she was beginning to feel uncomfortable being alone with him. She scooted a little further away on the bed and cleared her throat.

"Um, you said…their _souls_?" she clarified, and Marvin nodded again. His mouth twitched into a brief frown, then back into an increasingly-disturbed smile.

" _He_ helped with that part."

"…He?" Cara frowned. Her father shifted his gaze behind her and slowly raised a pointed finger over her shoulder. Cautiously, her heart beating fast, Cara turned to see what her father was pointing at…if he was really seeing anything at all. He _could_ be having some sort of relapse (it had happened once before, and it could certainly happen again), which meant that Cara needed to get out of the room immediately and find some help.

However, as Cara's gaze shifted to an unimposing corner of the white-walled room, she began to wonder if she wasn't just as crazy as her father.

Sitting on the floor was a long-limbed… _thing_. Cara wasn't quite sure _what_ it was; the thing appeared to be some sort of doll, with a black midsection, and black and white-striped arms and legs. It was wearing some sort of darkly comical mask with a gaping mouth, red-painted cheeks, and purple tear-streaks painted on from the eyes down to the top lip. Cara had no idea what this thing was, nor how it had gotten in the room; she _knew_ that it hadn't been there when she'd arrived.

" _He_ helped the children after I killed them." Marvin suddenly spoke, startling Cara both with his indifferent tone and how easily he had spoken his horrendous crime aloud. The girl turned back to her father, but she swore that the dark eye-sockets of the long-limbed doll were staring into her back. When she was facing him, Marvin continued, still staring at the thing in the corner.

"He knew that what I'd done was wrong; the children couldn't rest in peace, so he thought that giving them new bodies to call 'home' would help them more than letting them wander aimlessly around for the rest of their afterlives. So, he took something important to each of the children and hid them where no one would think to look. He guided the souls of the children to their new bodies, and that's where they are to this day. I hope they're happier now…"

"D-dad…," Cara trailed off, unsure of how to respond. Obviously, her father was falling fast into another one of his delusions, and she needed to get him some help before it was too late. Standing up, she started to inch towards the door; her father remained on the bed, still staring into the corner.

"…Oh." Suddenly, the man on the bed's face contorted into a pained expression of grief. "Wait…I didn't realize…No…They're _not_ happy…They…they think that other people are _me_ and have been trying to…to avenge themselves by…Oh God, oh God…" He began to rock back and forth, clutching his head in his hands. Cara was reaching for the door by this point, but she paused when she saw this.

"Dad…," she repeated, her hand resting loosely on the doorknob. She wanted more than anything to comfort him, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Her father began to sob loudly.

"C-Cara…help them," he implored, though he still covered his face. "Please…find the music box, and _he_ can help you…Please…Help them…Please…Help…"

" _Who_ can help me?!" Cara questioned, knowing that her father was at his breaking point. Even though he was losing it, he seemed _very_ adamant about this. Ever-so-slowly, Marvin lowered one hand and pointed towards the corner once again.

" _He_ can…But…don't forget to wind the box, o-or else…"

Keeping a death grip on the doorknob, Cara turned towards the corner just in time to see the terrifying mask lunging straight for her face. Screaming, she wrenched open the door and ran into the hallway, the sounds of her father's sobbing following her even as she slammed the door behind her. A nearby nurse immediately rushed over, but all Cara could do was point towards the room and rush outside, wanting to get away from the hospital as fast as she could.

Even as she managed to calm the shaking in her hands enough for her to unlock the car and begin the short drive home, she could swear that the _thing_ was watching her every move.

It was just watching…and waiting.

* * *

The next day, Cara and Mike had arranged to meet for coffee at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Cara had called her friend immediately after his shift ended at 6 am, and he sounded extremely relieved to hear her voice; he wanted to meet right then and there, but Cara insisted that he get some sleep beforehand. Soon, morning turned to afternoon and they two friends were sitting in the local coffee shop, both staring down into their cups of dark, caffeinated liquid.

"So, um…," Mike eventually said after an uncomfortably long silence. Cara glanced up at him and noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, as if he'd failed to get any sleep despite her insistence. "That job last night was…interesting."

"Oh?" Cara ran a finger over the lip of her cup. Though her eyes weren't as bloodshot as Mike's, there were obvious bags underneath them."The visit with my dad was…interesting, too. But you can go first."

"Y-yeah…So, um…God, where the hell do I start…?" Mike stared up at the ceiling, as if imploring it to give him an answer. After a few seconds, he looked directly at Cara for the first time since they had entered the coffee shop. "First of all, I'm not _exactly_ sure what you wanted me to find when I looked up those old newspaper articles…but the main thing I got was that there were two major incidents in '87 that actually got the place closed down for a few years. First…there were lots of articles about this guy who went crazy and murdered five kids; they apparently never found the bodies. Thank God the guy confessed and was arrested, but…damn."

Cara tore her gaze away and glanced at the table. "Yeah, I heard it was pretty horrible."

"It was one of the daytime security guards that did it; the guy was only about five or six years older than me at the time…" Mike shivered, took a sip of his coffee, and continued. "The other thing I found out was that, even though the murder of those kids was a _huge_ deal, it wasn't quite enough to close the place down. For some reason, some parents still thought it would be a great idea to have their kids' birthday parties at the Pizzeria…

"Anyway, one day an animatronic malfunctioned and bit someone. No one reported any exact details, but the guy on the phone…er, I heard something about how amazing it was that the human body doesn't need a frontal lobe to survive, so…I guess it was pretty bad. And _that's_ what ultimately shut the place down, combined with that crazy guy's killing spree."

Cara nodded; she had known about all of this, of course. She had first-hand information on the murder incident, and had kept herself well-informed of other events at the Pizzeria (once she had been old enough to learn the truth about her father). She was pleased that Mike had done his research; however, he still seemed extremely tense.

"Is there…anything else you wanted to tell me?" she questioned. Mike let out a short, barking laugh.

"Oh, there's a _lot_ …but I'll make a long story short: that place is _creepy as hell._ They don't turn off the animatronics at night because, apparently, their 'servos will lock up'…which normally wouldn't be a problem. Except…hell, Cara…they _moved_!"

He was gazing at her, wide-eyed, terror etched across his face. Cara's brow furrowed.

"Well…if they're left on, it's kind of expected that they would move at _some_ point, right?"

Mike shook his head vehemently.

"They weren't just moving around signing songs like they usually do, Cara. They were _coming for me._ " Cara blinked in surprise, and Mike continued. "I'm serious. It was fine for the first hour or two, although I got this weird phone call from this guy who I assume is my supervisor; he told me that they sometimes walk around. I thought 'okay, whatever, as long as they stay on the stage, it's all good.'

"But they _didn't!_ I'd look at the hallway camera, and then when I looked back at the stage, _they were fuckin' staring right at me!_ And then, when I switched to another camera and then back again, one of them _moved_. And _then_ , THEN…they were at. My. Doors. They were at my damn doors, but I couldn't keep them shut because I would drain the power and then…God, I don't even want to _think_ about that.

"It was terrifying. _Terrifying._ But do you know the worst part?"

With this, Mike finally paused. What he was saying sounded absolutely crazy…but Cara could tell from the look on his face that he was being completely serious. She shook her head, wondering what else he had to say.

"When I told my boss the next day, he totally brushed me off! I _know_ he knew what was going to happen, and he didn't even fucking warn me! Asshole…"

Cara was unsure of what she was supposed to say. Animatronics that were intentionally out to get the night security guard? It didn't sound like a very convincing story. But then again…What had her father said yesterday amidst his ramblings? The children are "still around," but they're "not happy" and have been trying to "avenge themselves." Of course, this was probably just the ravings of a seriously disturbed man haunted by his past sins.

Still…Even though she knew deep in her gut that this was a _horrible_ idea, she felt that she needed to do something about this. It would surely bring up some bad feelings, but maybe it would also help to heal some old wounds that had been re-opened last night. Maybe she could also find out what the hell that _thing_ in her father's room was…if it was even real in the first place.

"I probably sound totally insane," Mike said softly, running a slightly shaking hand through his hair and sitting back against his chair. "Honestly, I might've just been so tired that my eyes were playing tricks on me. That's probably all that it was. Well, either way…I'm going back for another shift tonight."

"Really?" Cara asked, instantly perking up. This was the perfect opportunity. "Mike, this is a very strange question, but…do you think I could come with you? To your shift tonight?"

The boy gazed at her, his expression confused.

"Um…I mean, I don't see why _not_ …but why would you _want_ to? Especially after what I just told you? Obviously, this place severely messes with your brain…"

"I've always wanted to check out the Pizzeria," she responded; not an entirely untrue statement. "Besides…" She gave him a wry smile. "If you're already going crazy after one night on your own, don't you think having another person with you would help?"

"Yeah, probably!" Mike laughed. "I'll give my boss a call and ask if it's alright for you to come with me, okay? Hell, maybe he'll even give _you_ a job, too!"

"Not sure if I'd want one, but thanks for the offer." Cara stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. The nerves were already beginning to twist her stomach into knots; she couldn't even bring herself to finish her coffee. Right now, she needed to go home and mentally prepare for the tough night ahead.

"I'll see you at the Pizzeria at midnight, then?" she said, pushing in her chair.

"Eleven forty-five; I like to make a good impression and go a little early."

"Right; eleven forty-five. See you then!"

"Yup!"

With that, Cara left the coffee shop and Mike was alone at the table. His smile instantly slipped; he brought the coffee cup up to his lips, but his hand had once again begun to tremble. Placing the cup back on the table, he breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself. He sincerely hoped that last night's events had just been created out of tired delirium, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind led him to doubt that this was the case.

Anyway, at least he would have someone to be with; maybe Cara would be able to keep him sane.

After all, it _was_ only his second night at Freddy's.


End file.
